Shared Education in Northern Ireland — PDMU & Community Relations
A P4–P7 resource on Shared Education in NI — the formal partnerships between schools from different traditions, what activities they involve, the evidence for their impact, and how PDMU supports mutual understanding.
Preview
Page count: 2. Print-ready PDF — letter / A4 friendly. Click image to see all pages.
Shared Education in NI
- 1 Shared Education Formal partnerships between two or more schools from different sectors (mainly controlled/Protestant and Catholic-maintained) to collaborate on curriculum and activities. Differs from integrated schools — pupils still attend their own school.
- 2 What Shared Education involves Joint classes in certain subjects (science, PE, arts, technology); shared clubs and activities; collaborative projects; staff development. The amount of shared time varies greatly between partnerships.
- 3 The evidence Research from Shared Education Partnership programme consistently shows improved cross-community attitudes, greater awareness of the other community's experience, and positive academic outcomes.
- 4 Integrated schools Schools that bring together children from different backgrounds (mainly Catholic and Protestant) in the same school under the same roof. There are over 70 integrated schools in NI. Demand for places exceeds supply.
- 5 PDMU and Shared Education Shared Education provides the practical experiences (meeting real people from the other community) that PDMU's 'Mutual Understanding' strand works best alongside. Theory without experience has limited impact.
- 6 Contact theory Research (Gordon Allport) shows that contact between groups reduces prejudice — provided the contact is equal-status, cooperative, and supported by authority. Shared Education is designed with these principles.
Learning objective
Explain what Shared Education is and how it differs from integrated schools; describe contact theory and why it works; understand how PDMU and Shared Education complement each other.
About this resource
PDMU and Shared Education resources
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For teachers
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P PDMU resources — free at nicurriculum.org.uk
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S Shared Education resources — Education Authority NI
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R Rights Respecting Schools UNICEF resource pack — Various
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